PBS Summer 2017 TCA Press Tour

PBS Summer 2017 TCA Press Tour

The PBS portion of the Television Critics Association Press Tour Summer 2017 is happening July 30-31.

For up-to-date information straight from Press Tour in Los Angeles, follow PBS PressRoom on Twitter using @PBSPressRoom and #TCA17.

Please note this is a private event for registered press. Registration is now closed. No new credentials will be issued on-site.

Access free, professional, candid, hi-res Press Tour photos starting July 30 from the PBS PressRoom Flickr stream. Visit this PressRoom site to find session and program photography. Scroll below to find links to program pages.

Please note, no pictures or videotaping in the ballrooms at any time.

Interested in pre-screening full episodes of upcoming programs? While you're here, check out the schedule on the closed circuit feed (channels 75 and 76). Back at work, head to the PressRoom Video page.

After broadcast, full-length PBS programs, updated daily, are available for viewing on the PBS Video Portal.

Looking for local connections to PBS' upcoming programming? Use the PBS Local Connections Google map to find if your market is connected to an upcoming broadcast.

PBS is everywhere you are! In addition to Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, PBS is on Storify, Pinterest and more. Feed your media outlets with PBS and PBS KIDS content from these sites:

POV “Swim Team”

Sunday, July 30, 2017
11:45 a.m., International Ballroom
This film chronicles the overwhelming struggles and extraordinary triumphs of 3 young athletes with autism and shows how a swim team can bring hope to a community.
Press conference panelists:
• William M. McQuay, film subject, coach and father
• Maria McQuay, film subject, mother
• Michael McQuay, film subject, swim team member
• Lara Stolman, director
• Justine Nagan, series executive producer
Premieres Monday, October 2, 10:00 pm ET.
@POVdocs | #SwimTeamPBS

Lunch

THE VIETNAM WAR

Sunday, July 30, 2017
1:00 p.m., Beverly Hills Ballroom
THE VIETNAM WAR is a 10 part, 18-hour documentary film series directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. An immersive, 360-degree narrative, the series tells the epic story of the Vietnam War as it has never before been told on film.
Press conference panelists:
• Ken Burns, filmmaker
• Lynn Novick, filmmaker
• Gen. Merrill McPeak, Air Force, retired
• Mai Elliott, author, The Sacred Willow: Four Generations in the Life of a Vietnamese Family
Premieres Sundays through Thursdays at 8:00 pm ET, September 17-21 and 24-28
#VietnamWarPBS

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE “Into the Amazon”

Sunday, July 30, 2017
2:30 p.m., International Ballroom
In 1914, President Theodore Roosevelt and legendary Brazilian explorer Candido Rondon made a perilous journey into the dark and deadly heart of the Amazon rainforest to chart an unknown river in one of the wildest places on earth.
Press conference panelists:
• Tweed Roosevelt, great-grandson of Theodore Roosevelt and President of the Board of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, who retraced his great-grandfather’s adventure down the Rio Roosevelt
• Larry Rohter, former Rio de Janeiro Bureau Chief of The New York Times, author of Brazil on the Rise: The Story of a Country Transformed, and an upcoming biography of
Candido Rondon
• John Maggio, writer, director and producer
• Mark Samels, series executive producer
Premieres January 2018
@AmExperiencePBS

NATURE “H Is for Hawk: A New Chapter”

Sunday, July 30, 2017
4:30 p.m., International Ballroom
Helen Macdonald’s international best-selling book “H Is for Hawk” told the story of a grieving daughter who found healing in the form of Mabel, a goshawk. The goshawk is one of Mother Nature’s own fighter jets, capable of finding and killing its prey with tremendous speed. For the first time after Mabel’s death, Macdonald tries again to train another one of these secretive birds of prey and intimately explore their lives in the wild forests they call home.
Press conference panelists:
• Helen Macdonald, author, H is for Hawk
• Mike Birkhead, producer and director
• Goshawk and falconer
• Fred Kaufman, series executive producer
Premieres Wednesday, November 1, 8:00 pm ET.
@PBSNature | #NaturePBS

THE RUFF RUFFMAN SHOW

Sunday, July 30, 2017
5:15 p.m., International Ballroom
The star of the classic series FETCH! WITH RUFF RUFFMAN returns to PBS KIDS in THE RUFF RUFFMAN SHOW, a short-form, animated multi-platform digital series with videos and games designed to help kids ages 4-8 explore science concepts.
Press conference panelists:
• Jim Conroy, five-time Emmy®-nominated actor and writer, voice of Ruff (and the voice of every character in the Ruff Ruffman family since its debut in 2005)
• Marcy Gunther, senior series producer
• Linda Simensky, vice president, children’s programming, PBS
@RuffRuffmanPBS | #RuffRuffman

Rooftop Reception

Sunday, July 30, 2017
6:00 - 9:00 p.m. Join us for a rooftop reception in the Stardust Lounge with Voyager-inspired specialty cocktails and heavy hors d'oeuvres will be served.
In advance of Monday's lunch session for THE FARTHEST – VOYAGER IN SPACE, join us for a 40th anniversary toast to NASA’s Voyager spacecraft, and meet members of the original Voyager team.

WASHINGTON WEEK

Monday, July 31, 2017
11:45 a.m., International Ballroom
Currently celebrating its 50th anniversary, WASHINGTON WEEK features a roundtable of award-winning journalists led by moderator Robert Costa, a national political reporter for The Washington Post. The program’s reporters-only format for civil, relevant analysis distinguishes the program from 24/7 cable networks and other daily news sites. The journalists are able to explain complex issues and provide context on what breaking news and pending legislation actually means — how it affects people’s lives.
Press conference panelists:
• Robert Costa, series moderator
• Jeff Bieber, series executive producer
Fridays, 8:00 pm ET.
@WashingtonWeek| #WashWeek

BEYOND A YEAR IN SPACE

Monday, July 31, 2017
2:15 p.m., International Ballroom
BEYOND A YEAR IN SPACE picks up where the first film, A YEAR IN SPACE, left off: Scott Kelly’s last day in space and return to Earth. The final installment also introduces viewers to the next generation of astronauts training to leave Earth’s orbit and travel into deep space.
Press conference panelists:
• Capt. Scott Kelly, astronaut
• Jessica Meir, Ph.D., astronaut
• Bill Gardner, vice president, PBS Programming & Development
Premieres Wednesday, November 15, 9:00 pm ET.
#BeyondYearinSpacePBS

Dinner and Drinks

LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER presents Jonathan Groff

Monday, July 31, 2017
6:45 p.m., Beverly Hills Ballroom
LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER presents a performance from Jonathan Groff (Hamilton, Spring Awakening), who will appear in an upcoming LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER special with two-time Tony-winner Sutton Foster as a part of a group of four shows featuring some of Broadway’s biggest stars.
Press conference panelists:
• Andrew C. Wilk, series executive producer
• Jonathan Groff, featured performer
Premiere date TBA
#lflc